Hi Moms! I guess I've been sleeping through all of the recent news about plastics and Bisphenol-A (BPA), a dangerous chemical in plastics that may cause developmental and neurogical problems. I guess I thought it was only bad to microwave and heat plastic containers, but that most other products were relatively safe. From what I read, Avent bottles and many sippy cups are considered unsafe because of the high amount of BPA and some of the pacifiers (not the nipple part)are also not recommended to use with your baby. Should I be very alarmed and throw out all of the Avent bottles that we have and get rid of sippy cups in favor of glass bottles and stainless steel products? Also, I heard that the nipples on pacifiers and bottles are better if made out of silicone instead of latex.
I feel very in the dark about all of this and am wondering if any of you have more information to pass on. Thank you!
The only plastic bottle/cups that have the BPA in them are clear ones and the only way they are going to contaminate the liquid is if you microwave them or put them in the dishwasher. I've always used Avent and Playtex drop-in bottles and I read that the drop in liners are VERY safe. I don't plan on switching bottles when the new baby comes.
My understanding is that the bottles have to reach a certain temp before the bpa is released, but I could be wrong about that. I know it can be released in the diswasher, microwave, or if the bottle is boiled. I wouldn't worry about switching to glass. You could try another brand of plastic bottles if you wanted. I'm a little in the dark too, since I never used any of the bottles that were affected. I also never boiled or microwaved my bottles. We used the Playtex Nurser System with the Drop In liners and I love it!!! I've always used the silicone nipples, just because that's what came with the bottle.
Another great resource is www.ewg.org it is a consumer watchdog organization and they work to protect our rights in the legislature and provide excellent information. You can sign up for email newsletters from them.
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I've read that coloreed bottles are safe, or the bottles that use the drop in liners. I'm using Dr. Brown's, and because of all this bad publicity am trying to wean my twins to a sippy cup in a hurry. Probably being over paranoid, but if there's any chance of a risk I don't want to take it. There is a website for the new Born Free bottles that don't contain any BPA they have a lot more insite. Good luck.
Born Free has bottles, nipples AND sippy cups (for different ages) that are bisphenol-free. These are sold at Babies R Us and Whole Foods. Also, I just got a Medela pump and on the box it says that their products are also BPA free, which would mean their breast milk storage and their bottles, etc. I know it's all so scary!
Hi E.,
I am very concerned about BPA. It is not only in baby bottles, but many plastic products we use everyday. The easiest way to check if your product has BPA is to look for the recycle symbol (three arrows that make a triangle) its usually on the bottom of cups, bottles. The number in the triangle (1-7) is called a PIC (plastic identification code). PICs 2,4,& 5 are believed to not leach chemicals in any significant amount. Type 7 is the highest risk for BPA leaching.
These are two great sites to check out:
if you go to medela.com they have a good brief article on bpa's. I'm sure others will give you good info also.
After everything I've read I would suggest throwing away your Avent bottles. I used Born Free and love them. They also make sippy cups.
